Drews



(NoModeL I r MOAN SEWER VBNTILATOR. No. 379,899. Patented Mar. 20, 1888.

v I J 619 t? lll WILLIAM H. MOANDRINVS, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MOANDRENVS SANITARY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SEWER-VENTI LATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,899, dated March 20, 1888.

Application filed September 2, 1885. Serial No. 176,013.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAH I-I. ilIoAN- DREWs, a citizen of the United States, residing atYoungstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewer-Ventilators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of my invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification.

All existing devices for sewer-ventilation are efforts either to confine the gas within the sewer until by accretion it forces escape at a point provided, or to drive the gas out at such point by the introduction of fresh air into the sewer above and not below the gas therein. Traps, cowled pipes, and other devices have been usedin the application of these ideas, resulting in failures, as shown by the experience of, all cities of which I have information in both Europe and America.

The object of my invention is to remedy these defects in preexisting systems of sewer-ventilation, which I do, dispensing with all watersealed traps and unphilosophical methods of introducing fresh air, by utilizing in a simple mechanism natural laws, forming a new gas check and ventilator combined, which prevents the passage of gas beyond a fixed point, and by which all gases in sewers, laterals, and soil-pipes pass to exit as generated through an escape-pipe, so that not only the buildings connected are exempt from the ingress of sewergas, but the sewer itself is made the highway for its exit, instead of a reservoir for its retention, as sewers now are in existing systems.

To fully comprehend my sewer-ventilator now to be described, it should be kept in mind, first, that in all sewers gas is a constantly-increasing quantity, owing to the continuous addition of gasgenerating matter therein; second, that the atmosphere has a pressure of fifteen pounds to the square inch on all openings to be overcome by the escaping gas; third, that sewer-gas is lighter than common air, and naturally seeks the higher places in the sewer, but will not ascend through an escape-pipe when the freshair inlet and outlet are bal- (No model.)

anced by an equal atmospheric pressure; fourth, that fresh air injected into a "sewer naturally t'lows along the bottom and produces by its bulk and motion a reverse current of gas in the upper part of the sewer; fifth, that any expansion of the gas stimulates the current of gas from the point of such expansion and increases the tendency to rise, and, sixth, that the introduction into or the movement of any bulk of air within the sewer superinduces corresponding fresh air-and gas currents therein. With these facts in mind, attention is invited to the drawing, in which the figure is a side vertical section "iew on a central line of my sewer-ventilator and its pipe-connection, the escape-pipe being in part perspective.

Parts are indicated by letters, the uses of which will now be explained.

It will be seen by inspection of the drawing, that my ventilator is a section of sewer-pipe of form and with openings to be described, connected at B B into the line of the sewer, and having upon a line on its upper side openings for the pipes O and D, the latter being the usual man-hole or other fresh-air inlet and the former connected with the ventilator above the expansio11-chamber, A being the gasescape pipe, so located that the vertical wall is immediately contiguous to the fresh-air inlet D, preferably extending to near the surface of 80 the ground, thence bending to an incline and extending to the neighboring building, where it again turns to the vertical and extends upward far enough to deliver the gas where it will be harmless.

Immediately below the connection of the escape pipe 0 with the ventilator the expansion-chamber A therein is formed by an enlargement having vertical sides and one vertical end wall, the opposite being an incline from the pipe 0 downward to the horizontal pipe. The size of the enlargement is such as to increase the capacity of the horizontal pipe at this point four times.

Although it is the teaching of my experi- 5 ments that the above-described form and size is the best for the expansion-chamber A, yet variations therefrom may be employed with more or less success, and I therefore do not limit myself to the form and dimensions stated, :00

but include as within my invention any expansion-chamber upon the horizontal pipe of the sewer.

- It should be bornein mind that the ventilator acts upon the part ofthe sewer inclining downward from-it, which inclination is a factor in creating the currents of air and gas within the sewer, and in a street-sewer, whether main or branch,ventilators are placed at such suitable distances apart that thepart of the sewer intervening between it and the one next below is purged.

The principle and practical operation of my invention will now be readily comprehended.

Gas generated within the sewer by its levity flows along the top and seeks the higher points, which brings it to chamber A of the ventilator, where it rises above the horizontal line of the sewer, preventing impediment of fresh air throughinlet D, while from the expanded bulk in A itsrapid escape through the contracted pipe 0 overcomes the equilibrium of the atmosphere upon the openings of G and D, and thus the combined weight and momentum of fresh air and gas create a perfect ventilation.

Inasmuch as the alacrity of the air and gas currents are increased or diminished with the increase or diminution of the gas, it is true that my ventilator removes the gas as fast as generated.

I am .aware that as a means of ventilating soil pipes in combination with traps appliances for the introduction of fresh air above the gas-line have been used; and I am also aware that attempts to ventilate sewers and soil-pipes have been made by utilizing the force of wind blown into cowled pipes connectedwith the sewer, and by superinducing anoutflow of gas by artificial heat applied in buildings to exit-pipes, and by the natural heat of the-sun similarly applied; but Iam not aware thatthe introduction of fresh air below the gasline has ever been attempted; nor am I aware that any device prior-to my invention has ever been known to utilize the sewer-gas as the motive power for drawing fresh air into and ventilating the same:

It will be seen that the vertical end wall of the expansion-chamber provides an abrupt wall against which the gases are caused to strike, and thus forming a gas-check. This abrupt end wall need not necessarily be vertical, as it is only essential that it should arrest the passage of the gas and prevent the gas from passing along the line of the sewer beyond the expansion-chamber, which would create friction and impede the circulation of 2. In asewer-ventilator, the ventilator provided with an expansion chamber, A, which is wider at the bottom than at the top and has an abrupt front wall, the gas-exit 0, connecting with the expansion-chamber, and the fresh-airinlet D, connecting with the ventilator in frontof the abrupt wall of the expansionchamber and in close proximity thereto, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. MOANDREWS. Witnesses:

I. G; SCHILLER, J AMES F. WILsoN. 

